Age of Glamour 20 March to 31 December 2015
at Lotherton Hall, Leeds
Age of Glamour, an exhibition of women’s fashions from the fifties, will be the first exhibition to open following the extensive refurbishment of the Fashion Galleries at historic Lotherton Hall, situated between Leeds and York. The exhibition will showcase a major loan from the V&A - a red Dior cocktail dress (the acclaimed ‘Ecarlate’, from Dior’s La Ligne Y collection of 1955) - plus pieces from renowned designers, Balenciaga (Ball Gown, by Cristóbal Balenciaga, 1951) and Norman Hartnell. The displays will also show luxury ready to wear dresses from British designer labels such as Frank Usher, Susan Small and Horrockses, and explore the post-war period when fashion delighted in a return to elegance.
Visitors will gain an understanding of the fashion system at the time and how the renowned names of French couture may have led the way in creating the fifties style,
but that it was really an era which saw the coming of age of ‘off the peg’, as the glamour of Paris was copied and recreated at every level, from exclusive labels sold in department stores, to the home dressmaker. Some of the country’s earliest department stores, such as Marks&Spencer recognised that the design achievements of these great couture houses could be represented within their own ranges and stores
Lotherton Hall, an Edwardian house and country estate once home to the Gascoigne family is now the home of Leeds Museums and Galleries